‘Barbaros’ may restart exploration activities soon: Nami

‘Barbaros’ may restart exploration activities soon: Nami

Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Özdil Nami has said that seismic survey vessel ‘Barbaros Hayreddin Paşa’ could soon resume its activities if the Greek Cypriot side maintains its aggressive stance.

The ‘Barbaros’ has remained anchored off Famagusta as a “gesture of goodwill” in support of UN Special Advisor Espen Barth Eide’s efforts to resume the Cyprus negotiations, he said.

Discussing the latest developments on the Cyprus problem on BRT, Nami said that the UN Special Envoy had adopted a balanced stance regarding his statements to the press following the briefing he gave to the UN Security Council.

Commenting on the UN Secretary General’s report extending the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping mission in Cyprus for a further 6 months, Nami said it was quite balanced. He added that the report openly stated that it was the Greek Cypriot side which had left the negotiating table. Nami said that reference in the report to the isolations imposed on the Turkish Cypriots was a positive development; Foreign Minister Nami said that the isolations Turkish Cypriots are subjected to must also be mentioned in the UN Secretary General’s UN Security Council report. “There is no room for isolations in an environment where peace negotiations are continuing. The EU member countries owe the Turkish Cypriots in terms of lifting the isolations”, he said.

Expressing the Turkish Cypriot side’s was disappointment with the fact that no mention was made in the UNFICYP report that Turkey had issued its NAVTEX on behalf of Turkish Cypriots, Nami said that this was something which the Turkish Cypriot Side had wanted to see in the report. Noting that Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades had accused the UN Secretary General of blackmail following the report, Nami said that the Greek Cypriot leadership had failed to round up the support it was seeking from the international community.

Asked to comment about the subject of Varosha being used by some of the presidential candidates as part of their election campaigns, Nami explained that the issue of the fenced-off city of Varosha was part of the Chapter on Territory and that the issue had not even been discussed by the leaders at the negotiating table.